Juárez police: Girl, 12, rescued from forced prostitution

The brothel El Refugio in downtown Juárez, where a 12-year-old girl was allegedly held against her will and forced into prostitution.

City police in Juárez rescued a 12-year-old girl who had been forced into prostitution under threats against her family, the city said in a news release.

Officers arrested three adult women who allegedly were holding the girl.

A woman approached a police patrol Saturday afternoon and told officers that her daughter has been missing since Aug. 26 and that she had learned the girl was being held in a brothel known as El Refugio. The place is at the intersection of Francisco Javier Mina and Miguel Ahumada in downtown Juárez.

Police immediately searched the building and found the girl in one of the rooms, the city said, adding that the girl was being held in deplorable conditions.

The girl told police that she left her house on Aug. 26, and a woman invited her into the brothel. Once inside, the girl was not allowed to leave, as her alleged captors thratened to kill her family if she did.